Making Our Mark

It was interesting to watch a documentary by the comedian Sir Billy Connolly, who stated that he does not fear death. He laughs a lot despite having to cope with Parkinson’s disease and a degenerative brain condition, and considers old age (he is 75) as an adventure which will prepare him for the spirit world.

He feels his life is slipping away, but he’s not frightened. Instead he finds it ‘interesting’ to witness his decline and to how bits of him and his talents are slowly disappearing.

“It’s as if I’m being prepared for something, some other adventure, which is over the hill. I’ve got all this stuff to lose first, and then I’ll be at the shadowy side of the hill doing the next episode in the spirit world.”

What a wonderful way to look at old age and its declining faculties! Sir Billy is also grateful for having ‘made his mark’ in life with his creative talents, and states that this achievement is a great companion in his old age.

Yes, it must be very satisfying to know you have ‘made your mark’ in life, so to speak. It occurred to me that we authors are also trying to do exactly the same thing, but with books instead of comic genius. Unfortunately there are many more authors than comedians, and so to gain literary recognition is a somewhat longer process for us, if it happens at all in our lifetime. Sir Billy has the luck to be both a comedian and a traditionally published author, and so…yes… he has certainly made his mark and should be proud of his efforts.

So… my question for writers is this: Do you as a self-published author feel you have still ‘made your mark’ even if you never find an agent or that big publishing deal?

I for one think that yes, I have still made a small stamp on the world with my books. They’re out there in the world, people on the whole get pleasure from reading them, and although I may not sell as many as Sir Billy, people do buy them.

And what of those who do not have creative talents? How do they make their mark? With some it might be satisfying to know that their children will live on and remember them. Others may possess sporting talents or be a mathematical wizard for instance. Whatever the speciality, we generally like to know that our lives have been worth something and that we will not be forgotten.

We can’t judge the water’s impact by the size of the ripple. It all matters; it all makes a difference. Thank you for writing a provocative post and for sharing the update on Sir Billy Connally. I hadn’t known.

Billy is a saint. Crazy, profane, funny beyond funny. Cerebral, visceral, philosophy to locker room humor.
We are not the ones to judge. We never know how we impact others, only how they impact us. People whose handshake or hug we remember a lifetime might recall us or not. The size of our blip on the radar isn’t ours to know. Here’s a story. Greg Lake (ELP) said they played a concert in Russia long past their heyday, and there was a man in the front row in tears the whole show. Greg saw him at the door after the show and the man offered him a worn album cover to autograph. Greg signed it and asked him what the deal was, the man told him he’d gotten arrested for having that album and spent 9 years in jail for it. There’s a story behind everything we do. If we’re lucky we’ll get a glimpse of them. But most of them well never know. Which is why when someone the “wrong” color asks you for a battery jump to start their car in a frosty cold parking lot when you’d rather stay warm and go home, do it for them anyway. Pay it forward. Peace begins with a smile, a much bigger success than a hit record or book. Write with intention, the impact is out of your control.

Ah, yes, making your mark. Whether or not I have done this is a question that haunts me. As an almost-69-year-old blind person, who grew up before computers, before the ADA and before at least some people had the idea that blindness doesn’t have to be a virtual death sentence, I feel like I am on the cusp of something that will come to fruition after I am gone.

The publishing industry is just beginning to explore the possibilities of diversity in young adult literature. Blind authors and characters are rarely part of the discussion; as a very small minority, we have to stand at the back of the line. Blind authors have told me that their attempts to find agents have led to experiences where they were told that their portrayals of blind women in particular were “unrealistic.” We are trying to get them to understand that blind authors might be capable of portraying blind characters in a way that is more realistic than their notion that the public needs us to be serene, accepting and spiritually grounded people. This one-size-fits-all approach needs to end, if for no other reason than the fact that, unlike me, most people who are blind grew up sighted. They formed their negative opinions about the quality of life as a blind or visually impaired person in childhood, and those “prejudices” — though many just consider them kindly feelings of pity — come back to haunt them, if they end up losing their own sight.

So, I feel like a trail-blazer who has just about outlived her usefulness. It’s OK, I know that I have made some impact because of the interactions I have had with audiences and readers as well as in my private life. I am delighted and relieved to find young blind women writers like Amy Krout-Horn, Kristen Witucki, Meredith Burton and Jo Elizabeth Pinto, who are far more grounded in community than I could ever hope to be.

I’m with Denzil on this. I don’t see my writing as ever likely to make much of an impression among the millions of words published every week. On the other hand, I do like to think that I made a few useful innovations in my career as an Engineer and that my work as a County Councillor for four years contributed to improving the lives of one or two people.

Most of us are not likely to be remembered for more than a couple of generations of our families, while the really great or the very wicked are remembered for centuries, even millenia. But we all leave a mark. And we Indie Authors will leave more of a mark than if we had not set out on this path. I once read an article that you should leave your writing in your will – so I am leaving my manuscripts and intellectual property to my daughter – the only one in the family interested in my writing! My sister is leaving her writing to my daughter as well, for the same reason. She will be left a lot of stuff and if she ever makes any money out of it good luck to her! But on line, if nobody switches the internet off, will be a digital archeologist’s dream, the words and thoughts of ‘the people’.

Having read two of your books, Stevie, I would say you have definitely made a mark on this world by sharing the specific content of the two I have read. You are making readers aware of certain dangers in our society and that is a great thing.

I wonder whether we live in a culture these days where there is too much attention on “making our mark” as it is so closely associated with gaining attention, which is heavily social media driven? Have we lost the ability to see ourselves “making a mark” just by quietly being a good dad, or a kind sister, or a friendly colleague? Do we only “make a mark” when our work or characteristics get noticed publicly/globally? Just wondering …